Welcome to a new fall semester in Lyman Briggs! This year, we not only have 625 brand-new first-year students—we also have an unusually large number of new faculty, advisors, and administrative staff members in our community as well. So I'd like to remind everyone of some of the foundational elements of Lyman Briggs College.

First, there is the Mission Statement that underpins all of our work, informs our future vision, and is aligned with our core values, as described on the "About" tab of our website.

Lyman Briggs College bridges the sciences and humanities through interdisciplinary teachingand research,

Sustaining an inclusive residential college environment within a major research university;

Fostering collaboration between students, faculty, and staff, to advance scholarship, teaching innovation, and community engagement; and

Inspiring students to become lifelong learners, engaged citizens, and effective leaders.

Second, we have posted Community Norms that guide how we work together. Professionalism, respect, consideration, and trust build an environment that enables us to collaborate in support of our common goals.

Third, as an educational organization, we have identified Learning Outcomes that we will strive to help all of our students achieve. Some of these relate to particular aspects of our curriculum, others to students’ development as agents of their own academic success, and others to the broad range of competencies that knit together all aspects of the college's work.

I invite all of our community members to review these foundational documents, as a prelude to the exciting work of the year ahead.